Bram Janssen

Visual Journalist

bramjanssen.nl

A spa in wartime

Location: Istanbul

Nationality: Netherlands

Biography: Coming soon...

Two customers of the Hamam Alil spa south of Mosul, Iraq, take a break from bathing after covering themselves with mud from a nearby sulphur well, Thursday, April 27, 2017. The mud is supposedly healthy for the skin. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen)

A federal police officer takes a bath in the Hamal Alil sulphur spa south of Mosul, Iraq, Thursday April, 27, 2017. The spa reopened several months ago after the town was liberated from the Islamic State group. Many Iraqi soldiers visit the spa, located half an hour south of Mosul, in between fighting against the Islamic State group for relaxation. (

A customer pours water over himself in the Hamam Alil sulphur spa south of Mosul, Iraq, on Thursday, April 27, 2017. Many Iraqi soldiers go to the spa, located half an hour south of Mosul, in between fighting against the Islamic State group for relaxation.

A customer of the Hamal Alil sulphur spa gets a scrub and massage south of Mosul, Iraq, on Thursday, April 27, 2017. Many Iraqi soldiers visit the spa in between fighting against the Islamic State group for relaxation.

Customers enjoy the Hamam Alil sulphur spa, situated in an historic building half an hour south of Mosul, Thursday, April 27, 2017. Before the Islamic State took over the town of Hamam Alil in 2014, people from all over Iraq visited the historic spa

(AP Photo/Bram Janssen)

A federal police officer bathing at the Hamam Alil spa south of Mosul, Iraq, takes a break from bathing after covering themselves with mud from a nearby sulphur well, Thursday, April 27, 2017. The mud is supposedly healthy for the skin.

Abdul Aziz, 15, smokes a cigarette while waiting for customers to buy the mud from a sulphur well near the Hamam Alil spa south of Mosul, Iraq on Thursday, April 27, 2017. The mud is supposedly healthy for the skin. Before the Islamic State took over the town of Hamam Alil in 2014, people from all over Iraq visited the historic spa.

Children in the Hamam Alil spa south of Mosul, Iraq, pose with an automatic weapon for a photo on Thursday, April 27, 2017. Before the Islamic State took over the town of Hamam Alil, people from all over Iraq visited the historic spa south of Mosul. Now it's mostly visited by locals and Iraqi soldiers fighting on the frontline against the Islamic State group.

A customer shaves in front of a mirror in the Hamam Alil sulphur spa south of Mosul, Iraq, on Thursday, April 27, 2017. Many Iraqi soldiers visit the spa, located half an hour south of Mosul, in between fighting against the Islamic State group for relaxation.

Customers cover themselves with mud from the sulphur well in Hamam Alil south of Mosul, Iraq, on Thursday, April 27, 2017. The mud is supposedly healthy for the skin.